16.5 The sociocultural model and therapy utilization  (Page 2/7)

Treatment perceptions

By the time a child is a senior in high school, 20% of his classmates—that is 1 in 5—will have experienced a mental health problem (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999), and 8%—about 1 in 12—will have attempted suicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Of those classmates experiencing mental disorders, only 20% will receive professional help (U.S. Public Health Service, 2000). Why?

It seems that the public has a negative perception of children and teens with mental health disorders. According to researchers from Indiana University, the University of Virginia, and Columbia University, interviews with over 1,300 U.S. adults show that they believe children with depression are prone to violence and that if a child receives treatment for a psychological disorder, then that child is more likely to be rejected by peers at school.

Bernice Pescosolido, author of the study, asserts that this is a misconception. However, stigmatization of psychological disorders is one of the main reasons why young people do not get the help they need when they are having difficulties. Pescosolido and her colleagues caution that this stigma surrounding mental illness, based on misconceptions rather than facts, can be devastating to the emotional and social well-being of our nation’s children.

This warning played out as a national tragedy in the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. In her blog, Suzy DeYoung (2013), co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise (the organization parents and concerned others set up in the wake of the school massacre) speaks to treatment perceptions and what happens when children do not receive the mental health treatment they desperately need.

I've become accustomed to the reaction when I tell people where I'm from.

Eleven months later, it's as consistent as it was back in January.

Just yesterday, inquiring as to the availability of a rental house this holiday season, the gentleman taking my information paused to ask, “Newtown, CT? Isn't that where that...that thing happened?

A recent encounter in the Massachusetts Berkshires, however, took me by surprise.

It was in a small, charming art gallery. The proprietor, a woman who looked to be in her 60s, asked where we were from. My response usually depends on my present mood and readiness for the inevitable dialogue. Sometimes it's simply, Connecticut. This time, I replied, Newtown, CT.

The woman's demeanor abruptly shifted from one of amiable graciousness to one of visible agitation.

“Oh my god,” she said wide eyed and open mouthed. “Did you know her?”

. . . .

“Her?” I inquired

That woman,” she replied with disdain, “that woman that raised that monster.”

“That woman's” name was Nancy Lanza. Her son, Adam, killed her with a rifle blast to the head before heading out to kill 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT last December 14th.

When Nelba Marquez Greene, whose beautiful 6-year-old daughter, Ana, was killed by Adam Lanza, was recently asked how she felt about “that woman,” this was her reply:

“She's a victim herself. And it's time in America that we start looking at mental illness with compassion, and helping people who need it.

“This was a family that needed help, an individual that needed help and didn't get it. And what better can come of this, of this time in America, than if we can get help to people who really need it?” (pars. 1–7, 10–15)

Fortunately, we are starting to see campaigns related to the destigmatization of mental illness and an increase in public education and awareness. Join the effort by encouraging and supporting those around you to seek help if they need it. To learn more, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website (http://www.nami.org/). The nation’s largest nonprofit mental health advocacy and support organization is NAMI.